The People's Defense League was founded in 1941 by Ernest J. Wright. Born in Kenner, Louisiana, Wright attended Xavier University of Louisiana in the 1930s. His career in labor organizing served as the launching for his political organization. The league served as a civil rights organization that ran voter registration drives and protested police violence. Wright gained support for the League by travelling across New Orleans and Louisiana addressing churches, unions, NAACP branches, PTAs, etc. By 1946, the League had registered 5,000 voters in New Orleans and by 1950 it had developed chapters in twenty-six parishes. This is a 1955 People's Defense League conference itinerary.
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